Intro

Welcome to our Big News section for all the latest news concerning Military Disability.

We'll do our best to keep you up to date on everything that could affect your disability. Since the majority of our news will cover legal issues that can be dragged out for a long time, if you'd like an update on an issue, let us know, and we'll do what we can.

Please feel free to comment and submit questions. We want to give you the information you need, so help us by letting us know what you want to know.

Monday, December 12, 2016

New Law to Improve the Veterans Crisis Line

On November 28, 2016, the President signed the No Veterans
Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act into law. This new law requires that
the Secretary of the VA develop and enforce a plan to make sure that each phone
call, text, or any other type of message received by the Veterans Crisis Line
is answered by a person in a reasonable amount of time, even at backup call
centers.

As we reported last March, the Veterans Crisis Line has had
its problems, with reports of calls going to backup centers or even voicemail.
The VA has been working to resolve these problems and improve its Crisis Line
services by expanding or creating new call centers, hiring more responders, and
providing additional training, among other things.

This new law helps to solidify these changes by requiring
the VA Secretary to develop ways to not only improve performance but to measure
whether those improvements are actually being made and whether they are making
a difference.

The Veterans Crisis Line is a valuable and effective resource
for those who are struggling. The holidays can be a very difficult time of year for veterans
and/or their family members. Fortunately, help IS available. If you are
a veteran in crisis or know someone who is, please call 1-800-273-8255
and then press 1, text 838255, or go to www.VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat to chat online.

The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day. The
Veterans Center Combat Call Centers are also available 24/7 to combat veterans
or service members serving in a combat area. These call centers are staffed by
other combat veterans. Call 1-877-WAR-VETS (927-8387).

Don’t hesitate to reach out—remember one small act can make all
the difference.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Search

About Me

As a retired Air Force Colonel and physician, I am a Military Disability and VA Disability specialist. As a physician, I have specialties in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and healthcare administration. While on active duty, I had direct responsibility over preventive medicine for all military members in deployed environments and contingency operations. Since retiring, I have worked as a contractor for the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), reviewing military disability cases, and for the VA, performing C&P exams.